America

The first mention of chess in America occurred in 1641 in Esther Singleton's history of Dutch settlers.Lewis Rau, a Huguenot minister, produced the first unpublished chess manuscript in 1733.In 1786 Benjamin Franklin issued the first published chess writing, The Morals of Chess.The first chess book by an American author appeared in Boston in 1805.The earliest surviving correspondence game in America is a game from the Washington Chess Club vs. the New York Chess Club in 1839.The first American chess tournament was held in New York in 1843.The first US championship was held in New Orleans in 1845, won by Charles Stanley.